John Barrett doesn't take to musicals very often. Straight plays, sure. Shakespeare, any time.

Once in a great while a musical comes along that coaxes Barrett, the highly respected director, out of his comfort zone.

Case in point, "A Man of No Importance," which opens tonight at Beatrice Herford's Vokes Theatre and runs through Nov. 22.

If Barrett's going to direct a musical, he's going to aim high. In casting this show, Barrett brings some of the top area voices to the famed Wayland playhouse.

Barrett was pleased to see Shelia Rehrig audition. "I've wanted to work with Shelia for a long time," he says. "I've seen her in several musicals, and she's always wonderful. She has a beautiful voice and terrific stage presence, but what interested me was her acting ability.

"She's an exciting and sensitive actress."

Rehrig plays Lucy, older sister of the production's protagonist Alfie Byrne. The play takes place in 1960s Dublin. Alfie, a bus conductor, is enveloped in aestheticism. Nothing wrong with loving music, poetry, birds and the tide, you say? Well, it is a bit of a problem for Lucy. See, Alfie is single, and it's looking like that may never change.

"Lucy's position in life," says Rehrig, "is to marry him off. So I can get married."

Lucy promised her mother she'd take care of her little brother and won't marry until he does. "Every time he mentions a girl I get excited," says Rehrig. Lucy hopes Ms. Right is coming into Alfie's life. She wants to marry the local butcher. "I've dated him for 15, 20 years!"

The show turns with the discovery of Alfie being a closeted gay.

"He's outed in a most public way," says Rehrig. "I'm as much angry he never told me as anything else. Ultimately, I come around."

Rehrig knew Lucy was a dynamite role before she auditioned. "I saw SpeakEasy do the show. I've wanted to play the part ever since."

Rehrig lives in Lexington but grew up in Greenwich, Conn. Her high school had virtually no theater program until her senior year, when she was cast in "How To Succeed In Show Business Without Really Trying." Greenwich was close enough to New York City for Rehrig's class to take a field trip to see "Mame" on Broadway. The show jacked up her theater interest.

After graduating from high school in 1972, Rehrig enrolled at Emerson College with the intention of majoring in speech therapy. But the arts became too appealing. She switched to theater education.

"I did shows at Emerson and MIT and became a member of the Light Opera Company. But I didn't think I had the gift for theater. I was going to teach it."

When she graduated from Emerson in 1976, Rehrig married the music director of the Boston Light Opera Company. Around that time, "I decided to do theater as a hobby," says Rehrig. "I made the rounds of community theater." She was cast in an original show called "The Paisley Sisters Christmas Special," performed at the Institute of Contemporary Art theatre in downtown Boston.

Says Barrett, "Shelia doesn't just sing a song, she becomes it. The role of Lucy requires a great singer and actress. When her life turns upside-down in a devastating way, she has a wonderfully poignant solo that will break your heart.

"There aren't many actresses who can come out of 90 minutes of buffoonery and then sell the moment. Sheila nails it."

Doug Sanders, the show's producer, says, "I admire Shelia's work in comedy and drama. She does both very well."

This is Rehrig's fourth Vokes production. The cast is especially strong. "It's going to bring the house down," she promises.

Rehrig usually does one show a year. She had the meaty role of Louisa in a solid Vokes production of "Nine" a few years ago. "I never believed I'd get the part. I never do. I make myself physically ill about auditioning."

Once she's cast though, look out.

"I've tried to get her to branch out to Shakespeare or Arthur Miller with me, but haven't been able to sell it to her," says Barrett. "So I had to break down and direct a musical to get my chance to work with her."

Once you see "A Man of No Importance," you'll understand the director's feelings more precisely.

"A Man of No Importance" runs through Nov. 22 at Beatrice Herford's Vokes Theatre, Rte. 20, Wayland. Performances are Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $18 and $23, and can be purchased at www.vokesplayers.org or by calling 508-358-4034.

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